You may not know the name Alberto Corral, but you most likely know of his work. He worked as an animator for the movies Kung Fu Panda 2 and Shrek Forever After. Alberto also has another entry on his resume – author.
Alberto Corral has written an adorable children’s book called My Monster Burrufu. It is illustrated by Alessandra Sorrentino. I’m surprised that he didn’t illustrate the book himself since he also does animation.
My Monster Burrufu is the story of a 7 year old girl name Olivia. Olivia lives with her father Steven who is a successful author.
Steven decides that he would write better out in the country so him and Olivia pack their bags and move far out into the country. Their new home reminds me of the Adam’s Family house, based on the illustration.
Olivia doesn’t have much to do in the new house so she roams the hallways with her dog Tula.
Late one night Olivia had a late night snack of milk and cookies. When she was finished she returned to her bedroom, only to realize she neglected to put the milk away. So she headed back downstairs to the kitchen. As she got closer to the kitchen she saw something unusual – a monstrous, hairy arm reaching for the cookies from the shadows. Without thinking about it Olivia started to chase after the mysterious being, only to have him disappear into the darkness.
The next day Oliva sets out to find their house guest. She happens upon a secret door into the attic. Is is there that she meets the creature she saw the night before – a huge, hairy monster name Burrufu.
Burrufu has lived in the attic for a very long time. He used to go outside but people taunted him, forcing him to hide away in the attic. To pass the time away Burrufu wrote stories. Olivia was impressed by the wonderful stories he wrote.
Olivia new that she couldn’t let her father, or his agent Mark, know about Burrufu. She knew he would have to be her secret friend.
On the days that her father wasn’t around Olivia would try and persuade Burrufu into leaving that attic. At first it was outside of the attic to enjoy some cookies. Not long after that she was able to convince him to go outside into the tree house. Burrufu was almost discovered when her father’s agent, Mark, showed up.
How long will Olivia be able to keep Burrufu a secret? What would happen if he was discovered? What does Mark take from the house that might expose who Burrufu really is? To learn the answers to these questions you’ll have to pick up a copy of My Monster Burrufu.
This is a charming story that is sure to delight any young reader. The book is around 100 pages long so it can easily be read in a day or two. There are chapters within the book making it an ideal bedtime story too.
I love the illustrations. Burrufu is not scary at all. He’s adorable!
I thought I knew the direction the story was going but it actually had a few twists and turns that I didn’t expect. The ending was unexpected too.
I think the reading level for this book would be from 6-10 years old. Younger children might need to have it read to them.
Look for My Monster Burrufu where ever books are sold including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Kimberly
*I received a free sample copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
Vianey says
Thanks for this review. I hadn’t heard of this book before but I will check it out. When my son asked me if there were monsters under his bed he was shocked when I answered “Yes!, let’s look so we can play with him” (I had placed Elmo under his bed) We played peek-a-boo with Elmo for a while everynight. LOL
Then I placed him in his closet and did that for a while too.
I love “mosters” like these for my children.
Vianey says
So, needless to say, my son has slept well knowing there are monsters on his room 🙂